City Lights
by whipasnappa
Summary: One small action changes the events of Tidus' future leading him towards someone else.  Was his whole life a lie until now and if it was then when did it start?  RikkuxTidus story
1. The Incident

A/N: So I don't read a lot of fanfiction so if someone already had this idea for a story…I'm sorry. I don't want people to think I'm taking there idea so if anyone did come up with this idea first and is offended that I wrote this I'll gladly take it down. I just thought of this while I was playing the game again and got to the scene in the beginning when Tidus falls off the boat and I got an idea. Anyways, here's my story and I hope you enjoy :D

(oh and just a heads up, the first chapter is basically a scene from the game but it has a twist at the end so please read till the end)

Chapter 1: The Incident

The air was still and silent. The young blonde girl didn't even notice the cold water splashing up on the boat as they swayed lightly side to side. She was too distracted by the young man in front of her choking on the meal she had just given him. She quickly handed him a canister of water to help the food go down. The icy water soothed his throat and relaxed his entire body. She watched him curiously as his golden hair wiggled back and forth while he drank. The moonlight hit his eyes in such a way that made them glow like a beautiful crystal grazed by sunlight. She bent down to his eye level as he sighed in relief.

"It's 'cause you eat to fast." She stated with a smile. He looked away nonchalantly avoiding her gaze. He lifted himself off the ground and stretched carelessly. The sound of his popping joints filled the air as he lightly laughed.

"Hey!" He swiveled quickly in response to her cry an faceed her dead on. Her goofy head piece made it hard for him to read her facial expression. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he was just happy that someone spoke English. Although he wasn't completely convinced she understood it. After all they barely had a conversation early.

"Hello there. What is your name?" She fought off an innocent smile when she heard the sudden gentleness in his voice. It was charming and almost childlike.

"Rikku." A large smile instantly formed on his face and he grabbed her hands in celebration.

"Whoa! You really do understand!" His happiness caught the best of him. He jumped up while keeping his grip firm. He couldn't help but notice the small calluses on her fingertips and how none of the women back home and hands like hers. None of those girls really worked a hard day in their lives. Then it dawned on him.

"Uh…Why didn't you say so earlier?" A reasonable question for him to ask. After all, she had been so kind to him the entire time he was on the ship so why wouldn't she have said something before?

"I didn't get a chance to!"

She explained her story but that only confused him. She didn't know it but everything he had experienced that day was completely new to him. He didn't know what an Al Bhed was…let alone an Al Bhed hater. And when he mentioned Zanarkand he couldn't understand why she had been so taken back.

Then he told her about Sin. Immediately she knew why he was saying such odd things.

"They say your head gets funny when Sin is near. Maybe you just had some kind of dream?" He looked out into the ocean and pondered on what she had just said. He couldn't help hanging on her last word. _Dream…How could my Zanarkand all be a dream?_ He quickly shook away those thoughts and changed the subject.

"You mean I'm sick?"

She told him about sin and how Zanarkand had been destroyed a thousand years ago. Now he really did feel sick. How could his home just be gone? Turned into a pile of rubble. He thought of his team and everyone that he had left behind. He wanted to cry…but that made him think of his dad. She noticed the hurt look on his face and began to feel a little sad herself. In a way she understood his pain. She knew that lost and heartbroken feeling all to well.

"You play blitzball?" She decided to change the subject. Maybe the one thing he remembered would make him happy.

"Uhuh." He responded, his voice sounding a bit more cheery this time.

"You know, you should go to Luca." He looked up at her with a hint of curiosity.

She continued, "Someone might know who you are, or you might find someone you recognize."

"Luca?"

She shook her head while throwing her arms slightly in the air as he awkwardly looked away. She felt as if he wasn't even trying to remember things. She walked around a bit trying to think. Then she came up with something. She ran up to him and playfully tapped his shoulder. He turned to her only to see a smile creeping on her lips. His eyes trailed up to her vivid green orbs and he began to wonder what she was going to say.

"Okay, leave it to me! I'll get you to Luca, promise!" He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the thought of this girl trying to take care of him. Normally it was the older kids who took care of the younger ones…not the other way around. But he smiled at the thought. He liked having someone care for him. It was nice to have someone think about him and not his old man for once.

She looked up at him waiting for his response but he just continued to look back at her. "You'd rather stay here?" She asked with a concerned yet playful tone. Right away he snapped out of his thought as quickly grunted a no.

"Okay, I'll go tell the others. Wait here." She walked off towards the entrance of the ship but before going inside she warned him of the dangers of mentioning that he was from Zanarkand.

He walked over to the tarp he was originally sitting under and decided to take a break to think about everything that was going on. As he leaned against the ship he couldn't help but think of what she had said to him. Everything was dawning on him and he didn't like the way things were starting to look. Would he have to sleep on the deck of that ship forever? Would he ever get back home? What lies ahead for him? All these questions sent his head spinning. In his anger he kicked the ship causing him to fall back….but it wasn't the kick that made him lose his balance. No it was something else.

A few Al Bhed came rushing out screaming and shouting. They were soon followed by Rikku who rushed over to Tidus.

"Sin!" one of the Al Bhed cried out.

Before Tidus knew it the entire ship was drenched causing him to slip off the edge. He quickly grabbed the closest thing to him to try and stop himself from falling. Unfortunately for Rikku, she happened to be that thing. As they both fell off the ship she grabbed onto him tightly burying her face in his chest as she screamed. She didn't want it to be the end…but she knew it was. As the cold water engulfed their bodies she couldn't help but think of home and she wished she were there, bathing in the sunlight. The cold water soon turned warm as she looked up to see bright rays of light hitting the water…but when she looked around she was alone.

A/N: Ok so that's my first chapter, I know it's short haha. Told you there'd be a twist though. I'll probably post the second one up with this one so you can get a feel of where I'm going with this story. I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me what you think!


	2. Seperated

A/N: Ok time for chapter two. Wonder how this is gonna turn out haha. And sorry for the last chapter not being all that exciting. This one should be more interesting. Anyways, here we go.

Chapter 2: Separated

Tidus felt the warm water all around him. The water was warmer but he was much warmer. He could still feel Rikku wrapped tightly around him. That feeling stuck with him through the whole ordeal. Over come by the odd sensation he placed his hand on his chest. But all he felt was his own skin.

"Rikku?" He uttered out in his daze. His eyes searched around a bit but there was no sign of her…or anything for that matter. Where was he? He swam around in circles looking for any sign of hope. Then something rang in his ears. Were they voices? He spun around to see where they were coming from but only met with a blitzball to the face. He rubbed his nose in a circular motion to help the pain when he spotted the blue ball floating by.

"Blitzball!" He shouted out with joy and almost immediately launched himself into the air and kicked the ball towards the players.

A tall dark man swam to him to help him out of the water. His eyes were nearly open the entire time. Tidus thought he must have been truly amazing for this guy to be so impressed. But then he started thinking about it. He had never seen a beach like this in Zanarkand. Was this place some kind of well kept secret?

"You wanna try that move one more time?" He looked at the tall man and smiled deviously. He picked up the ball and was about to throw it into the air till he remembered his companion. _Wait…I gotta find Rikku. I can't be messing around._

"Sorry but I gotta find my friend." He began to run throw the narrow alleys of rocks but he had no idea where he was headed.

"Wait!" The older man placed his arm on the young athlete's shoulder and jerked him back till they were facing one another. "Why don't I show you around town…maybe you'll find your friend there"

"Alright…" He looked the man up and down and noticed how strangely he was dressed. "hey wait a sec…" he continued, "you guys play blitzball right?" It was obvious from the attire they all wore.

"Yeah. We the Besaid Aurochs." He had this big goofy smile plastered on his face. He seemed so proud of his team. "Your no amateur…Who you play for?" The smile began to fade and turn into a more curious look.

"The Zanarkand Abes!" He wore a smug smile as he pointed to himself thinking that they would worship him. After all, back home he was a celebrity. But he didn't get the reaction he had expected. All the men began to stare shockingly and whisper amongst themselves.

"What team you say again?" The orange haired man glared at him with seemingly unforgiving eyes. Then he remembered what Rikku had said to him before. _Sins toxins?...It's worth a shot I guess._

"Uh, I meant…Forget that." He stumbled a bit trying to collect his thoughts. He needed to think on his toes if he didn't want to offend anyone. "I got too, uh…close to Sin and my head's all foggy-like." The man's eyes turned from hateful to shocked in an instant. Tidus continued, "So I don't know where this place is. Or even where I came from."

"Praise be to Yevon." The man blowed down and made a strange symbol with his hands. _What was that all about?_

"You're lucky to be alive." He put his hand on Tidus' shoulder and gave a sympathetic look. It seemed strange to him but he figured that Sin must have been a pretty big deal to everyone. The man motioned for him to follow. They walked up the path and towards the village.

"By the way, name's Wakka." Tidus smiled at the older man. Even though they had just met he felt like he could trust Wakka…and it was nice to be able to trust people. "Hey you should come to Luca with us, ya? Maybe you'll see some one ya know."

* * *

"Hey!"

Rikku heard the faint sounds of someone calling but she hurt too much to move. She laid there floating in the water letting the gentle currents carry her along. Then she heard it again.

"HEY!"

She tried to turn over but she couldn't. All her energy was drained. She could barely remember anything. What had happened and where was she now? She heard the voice call one more time but a splash soon followed after. She felt a warm hand clench around her waist and carry her through the crystal clear blue water. She couldn't help but think of how pretty the place was and how calm it seemed. Her eyes focused on the coral reef bellow her, then the tall grassy plains above. She wasn't in the ocean even though she tasted salt water. She must have been in some kind of small, narrow, bay.

Where ever she was she was happy she was there. The gentleness of the current soothed her pain a bit. But soon all the colors of the reef were gone, the water was no longer crystal blue, and everything became dark.

* * *

"This is the town I grew up in." Tidus looked over the edge of the cliff examining on the tiny town bellow. _How could someone live in a place so small? There's gotta be nothing to do there._

"It looks nice…" He responded

"Come on, lets go look for your friend, ya." As they walked down the steep hill all Tidus could think about was Rikku. _Why did I grab on to her? I hope she's ok. I mean I survived so she's gotta be alive somewhere…right?_ Wakka noticed the pained look on Tidus' face.

"Somethin' on your mind?" Tidus looked up at him and quickly changed back to his joyful old self.

"Naw…I was just wondering if there was any food in your village." Wakka looked at him and began to laugh a bit. He looked at the kid before him and hit him on the back a bit.

"Don't worry kid, we got food here. Don't you worry now." He laughed a little more. Tidus held his stomach as it growled lightly. He walked slightly behind Wakka now. He was still in deep thought about Rikku. He just wanted to know she was alright.

They were stopped in there tracks by a young looking man with dark hair. He hunched over a bit, placing his hands on his knees, to catch his breath for a few seconds but spoke right after. "Be on guard. There are fiends on the road today!"

"Who are you?" Tidus asked while bending over a bit to be at eye level with the man.

"Gatta!" He said while saluting the two.

"Where's Luzzu?" Wakka crossed his arms and tilted his head a bit as he questioned the crusader.

"He's patrolling the area for fiends. The safety of the village is our second priority!"

"What's the first?" Tidus asked while placing his hands behind his head.

"The first is defeating Sin!...Those toxin's must have really gotten to your head huh?" Everyone seemed to feel sorry for him. He didn't like it but he'd rather have people feel sorry then be mad at him for claiming to be from their "Holy Land". He watched as Gatta ran quickly down the hill nearly falling twice.

* * *

Her eyes opened to see an older man looking down at her. He was tall and had reddish orange hair. She tried to lift herself up to look around the room but found that her arm would collapse when she tried putting weight on it.

"You shouldn't strain yourself. After all, you are very week right now."

She searched his eyes for any sign of danger but only found kindness. "Who're you?" She managed to get out.

"I'm Luzzu. A Crusader." He helped her up as she attempted to sit normally. Her hands firmly clasped the metal edge of the cot she had woken up on. She struggled to keep her balance but couldn't. Her hair flashed in front of her face as she harshly fell back onto the thick cloth.

"Wait…" he walked over to the other side of the tent and fiddled around in a box for a little bit. Rikku propped her up to see what he was doing. He seemed to be looking for something. She could hear the box shut lightly even though her heavy breathing had filed her ears for the most part. Her hand traveled up to her forehead as she wiped away the sweat from her burning skin.

"This should help." He handed her a small bottle of blue liquid. Even though it was unmarked she knew right away what it was. She put the bottle to her lips and began to sip.

"Do you feel any better?" He asked as he felt her forehead.

"Yeah…thank you." She sent a small but sweet smile his way. She finished off the rest of the drink and before she knew it she was able to stand.

"I know it's not as good as an Al Bhed potion but it's the best we have at the moment. Most of our supplies just left with the troops headed towards the Mi'ihen Highroad."

"It was just what I needed. So how'd I get her anyways?"

"I found you floating in the bay. Do you remember anything that happened to you?"

Rikku placed her finger to her chin as she was in deep thought. She remembered small fragments of being on a boat and waves of icy water crashing over…but everything else was a blur. Then she recalled falling and holding onto a strange boy. The face of evil easily burned into her memory after that. She sat back down while keeping her eyes on the floor as her mouth opened.

"Sin."

A/N: Yay I'm finally finished with this chapter! I'm trying to keep to the character's personality as much as I can but sometimes it's hard so if people ever went out of character I'm sorry. Anyways, I've had a lot of homework so the next chapter probably won't be up for a few days. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and tell me what you think :D


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